This invention relates to watercrafts and, more specifically, to a watercraft having a man lift configured to raise a person vertically above the deck of the watercraft.
Inspection of structures, such as the underside of highway bridges for example, is federally mandated. There must therefore be a way to gain access to the structure below the roadway. Bridge inspections are commonly performed by any of walking on the ground, using a ladder or conventional bucket truck, or for bridges high above rivers, by using articulating cranes with platforms or buckets on them.
Boats have been used to access the underside of bridges. However, the makeshift lift devices on such boats are often unstable, especially when the boat is positioned in an area experiencing waves or significant tidal changes. As a result, the lift device must often be disassembled before the boat is moved to another location.
Accordingly, a boat capable of safely moving short distances within a body of water such that a man lift thereof remains in the lifted position while the boat is repositioned is desirable.